[wdfb_like_button] This is a look at the most popular classic types of EQs, from my best-selling book. The book is a for the entire process from DAW preparation to delivery. Before we dive into specific types of EQs, and where to use them, know that you will need to use a combination of these to cover all your EQ-needs in a mix. If you are not yet familiar with the classifications explained in this article, take some time to explore the possibilities of these on different sources – I’ll give you some typical examples but don’t limit yourself: on many, if not most of my DAW-channels, I’m using ALL of these EQs at different stages of the plug-in chain. EQing doesn’t have to be complicated – in the context of setting levels in your mix, EQs can be used in a very basic way. When you level for example a piano or guitar in the mix, this is as simple as having the upper range of the instruments, including the noise component (piano hammer noises, guitar picking noises) sit right in the mix first, and then use a broad EQ between 200 – 400Hz to adjust the lower range of the instrument by boosting or cutting.

Pultec-type EQs are great for shaping tones in a very natural way. It is difficult to get a bad-sounding result out of them. Even when frequencies are fully boosted, the boost still has a smooth and natural character about it. The reason for this are the Pultecs broad EQ curves. Even when you boost below 100Hz, the boost reaches up to 700Hz.

While these EQs have their own character, you can apply EQ-curves similar to them even if you don’t own one. Simply try out broader curves (smaller Q-factors) with the EQ you have at hand. The EQ-part of the Pultec consists of „passive“ electronics that reduces gain internally, and the tubes are used for a 2 stage line amplifier to make up for the gain lost in the passive EQ-circuit.

There are a couple known variations of these from known manufacturers, and an almost endless number of plug-in versions. Pultec EQs used to be very exclusive to high-end recording studios, and while the original hardware-versions are still amongst the most expensive EQs you can buy for money, plug-ins are of course a way to use these on pretty much every channel in your mix. Note that Pultecs add a very desirable and subtle tube saturation to your signal even when the EQ is set flat. PULTEC EQs – APPLICATION EXAMPLES Pultec MEQ 5 – WARMTH ON A VOCAL The Pultec MEQ 5 is usually my first EQ in the vocal chain, using a broad boost between 200 – 500 Hz, but you can simulate these (broad) curves with many stock EQs that come with your DAW. I don’t ever go lower than 200 Hz, and occasionally up to 700Hz.

The effect we want to get here is that the vocal gets more weight and warmth in the mix. If the vocal is well tracked, it comes with a lot of that quality in the recording and you may not need to do anything here. This is why people use Neve 1073s and various tube-based equipment (from Tube Mics, Tube Mic-Pres to Tube Compressors) during tracking. However, a lot of modern vocal recordings sound rather thin, and a nice boost in the low mids can fix that. If you like the character you’re adding with the boost, you can even do a little bit too much of it. You can counterbalance it later in the chain, for example by using a gentle compressor like a Fairchild or Summit TLA-100A.

Dc Pandey Physics Pdf Notes. In case the vocal already sounds overly „muddy“ or „boomy“, add a Linear Phase EQ at the beginning of the plug-in chain, locate and remove the frequencies that cause this effect. Watch the interdependence of that – once you’ve removed resonances, you have more leeway again to use that broad Pultec-boost again. Pultec EQP-1a – FINAL EQ ON A VOCAL CHAIN A Pultec EQP-1a as a final EQ can round off treble and bass.